2011 French Open: Robin Soderling struggles against Ryan Harrison to move into the second round
Top Swede Robin Soderling laboured against the lucky loser, Ryan Harrison from America, as the two met for their opening round match at the 2011 Roland Garros on Tuesday in Paris.
Soderling fought long and hard as he secured a four set win against the American as he recorded a 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5 victory in two hours and forty eight minutes.
Already holding a 1-0 advantage over the American, Soderling played Harrison for the second time this year, having met earlier in the season opener at Brisbane where the former enjoyed a straight sets victory in their opening match
there.
A two time finalist here, Soderling began his campaign in top form as he looked to go a step further this year. Both players held their serves plausibly in the first two games. However, this turned out to be the last time Harrison
got on the scoreboard. Recording a perfect 100 percent win on his acceptable first serve (65%) including eight winners, Soderling won five consecutive games to clinch a breadstick win, going one up in the set score.
Despite trailing 0-1 in the set score, Harrison was keen to prove his mettle. Turning the tables on Soderling, Harrison capitalised on a serve break in the second game to lead 4-2 in the second set. However, the Swede soon broke
back to level the score at 4-4. With the lucky loser following closely at the Swede’s heels, the set was forced into a tiebreaker. Capitalising on a mini-break, Soderling was able to secure a 5-3 lead for himself. However, it was a short-lived happiness for
the Swede, as Harrison broke back to tie the score at 5-5, which he only extended to a 7-5 win minutes later.
With a set win each, both players gave it their all to stay in the match. Bouncing back in the third set, Soderling successfully converted two break points to lead the set 5-2, before closing it at 6-3 on his serve.
The Swede carried his momentum into the fourth set as he broke Harrison in the very first game to lead 2-0. However, a break later in the fourth game, the score was tied at 2-2. As the match progressed slowly, the score kept going
back and forth between the two competitors though generally staying on an equal note. Tied at 5-5, the match looked to enter another tiebreaker. However, a lucky break in the eleventh game and a successful serve in the twelfth allowed the Swede to clinch a
7-5 win.
Soderling now moves on ahead to play Spaniard qualifier Albert Ramos in the second round.
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